<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Brightest Star by lovingremus</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705544">The Brightest Star</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingremus/pseuds/lovingremus'>lovingremus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Library Boy Universe [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Muggle, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, wolfstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:20:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingremus/pseuds/lovingremus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius asks Remus on a date.</p><p>The second part for my fic in the same muggle universe, The Library Boy</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Library Boy Universe [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>165</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Brightest Star</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>-Remus-</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>11.48 PM (Unknown number): so how high were your parents to name their son remus lupin</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>11.48 PM (Remus): You certainly know your conversation starters.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>11.49 PM (Unknown number): ooooh wow an instant reply i’m flattered ;)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>11.49 PM (Unknown number): you been staying awake for me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It was only a text, but still more than enough to make the blush rise on Remus’s neck again. Not that he would ever admit it, but that was exactly what he’d been doing. Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t want to give Sirius the satisfaction of getting another quick text back, so he forced himself to ignore the text for a whole chapter of his book, then killed time by saving his number to his contacts. His finger hovered over the selection of heart emojis for a moment, to put after his name, maybe - but he gave up on the idea. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get a grip</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he told himself, completing the saving process instead.</span>
  <em>
    <span> You barely know the guy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.06 AM (Remus): Just happened to be on my phone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.06 AM (Sirius): sure you were</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.06 AM (Sirius): ;)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.06 AM (Sirius): hey u didn’t answer my question about your name</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.08 AM (Remus): Well. That just was a pretty bold question coming from someone named Sirius Black.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.09 AM (Sirius): sirius black is a punk ass name</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.09 AM (Remus): It sounds like a name of a lousy book character.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.09 AM (Sirius): excuse ME</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.10 AM (Sirius): it sounds like a name of an AMAZING book character</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.12 AM (Sirius): and it’s not even that weird name seriously your name is absurd, wolfie</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.13 AM (Sirius): pls don’t tell me you have a brother named romulus</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.57 AM (Remus): Why are you so obsessed with my name?</span>
  </em>
  <em></em>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>12.58 AM (Sirius): why did it take for you so long to answer</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>1.00 AM (Remus): I fell asleep.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>1.01 AM (Sirius): sure you did</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>1.59 AM (Sirius): “fell asleep” again??</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>2.34 AM (Sirius): goodnight</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>3.37 AM (Sirius): not obsessed</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>3.37 AM (Sirius): your name is just cute</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Sirius-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t quite know why he was so surprised to see Remus at the library on Monday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d texted a bit over the weekend. They’d both started the conversation a couple of times, which Sirius counted as a win, but the conversation usually died quickly due to Remus being busy for school. And Sirius had been busy </span>
  <em>
    <span>chilling</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But only so rarely did he get an opportunity to spend the weekend at James’s parents, who had basically adopted him a few years back. He knew the Potters loved him as their own; it was the only place he’d always felt welcome to, where he’d always felt safe. And as the distance between them was too long to travel every weekend for a busy college student slash amateur journalist - he was always really happy to be able to go. Especially if James was joining him. He often went alone, he felt comfortable to - but having his brother around was always better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius had had an early wake up after the night Remus had appeared to his doorstep. He’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep (desperately waiting for Remus to text back until 4 AM and only then accepting maybe the boy was actually asleep, not ignoring him) and rushed to the train station. He had this event to attend to - as a journalist, that is - he’d been assigned to make an article about the new mall opening at the bigger city nearby and was supposed to attend the opening ceremony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as that day had come to an end, James had picked him up and they’d headed to the countryside to the Potters’ farm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night had been the first in ages when he could just</span>
  <em>
    <span> let go</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It meant hours of driving his motorbike on the gravel roads, blasting classic rock while fixing the said motorbike after driving it to a dump. It meant wine at family dinner and whatever could be found from Mr. Potter’s liquor cabinet in the garage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There might have been some drunken text messages to a certain someone. A terrible attempt to drunkenly explain those texts. There’d been a selfie. A selfie video. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>shirtless </span>
  </em>
  <span>selfie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then a selfie in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus had said it was all okay. The smile in the picture he’d sent seemed genuine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he’d thought he’d scared him away. That Remus would’ve realized he’s not what he wanted him to be and started to avoid the one place they would very likely meet at again. But now he had something he wanted to do, to say, to ask. And if it wouldn’t freak Remus out, it being too sudden or too soon...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius lingered between the bookshelves for a few minutes, practicing what he was about to say to him in his head, before taking a deep breath and walking up to the table Remus always sat at. He slid on the chair next to his, leaned his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his palm, mirroring Remus’s position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good day, Lupin,” he greeted with a cheerful tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Remus didn’t seem a bit surprised to see him. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Been waiting for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw you spying on me from there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, it’s a library. I was just looking for a book.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s gaze drifted to the aisle Sirius had been lurking in. “You speak German?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the German section.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius snapped his head to the direction, and he forced his face to stay expressionless. He looked back at Remus and shrugged one shoulder. “I could be learning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Remus said with a smile dancing on his lips. Sirius watched him underlining paragraphs on his textbooks, writing something down once in a while. After a few minutes, Remus stopped and raised his eyebrows at him - Sirius realized he’d been staring at him the whole time, and quickly dived to pull the laptop from his bag and pretend to start working on his own stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He jumped between different websites aimlessly for a moment, trying to keep working on his article, soon finding it impossible to focus. He had used to be so good at this. Talking. Flirting and charming. Suddenly all he’d planned to say sounded blunt, stupid in his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What would be your ideal date?” Sirius’s heart was beating fast, his stomach twisting nastily at the sight of Remus freezing, maybe to listen, maybe to come up with an excuse to leave. “Candlelight dinner? A long walk on a beach?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tension in Sirius’s chest released at the sound of Remus laughing. The boy spoke in an amused voice, not looking away from his notes. “For real, you and your conversation starters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just answer the question this time, alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, neither of those options, for sure. Both sound really awkward to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about movies?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even more so. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And </span>
  </em>
  <span>unoriginal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Laser tag?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus put his pencil down. He looked Sirius in the eyes now, turning on his chair a bit so his body was facing him too, finally paying his full attention. “Are you trying to ask me on a date, Sirius Black?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius smirked. Maybe he still </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>good at this. He leaned back on his chair, pulling his hair back with both of his hands, giving it a good, cool ruffle. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> is completely dependant on your answer. If you say yes, then - yes. If you say no, then none of this conversation ever happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus laughed again. Sirius couldn’t get enough of the sound. Remus was studying his face, biting his lip, thinking. “Okay,” he said. Sirius’s heart skipped a beat. “Okay. Where are we going, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ve just tried to suggest things to you but you think everything’s awkward. Tell me, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>do you</span>
  </em>
  <span> like, if not movies or… eating?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you don’t really get to talk at movies. And eating is </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but over-the-top fancy dinners are just pointless. I’d rather just grab like, I don’t know - Taco Bell and eat it on a rooftop somewhere. I want, you know…” Remus tilted his head. “Something fun. And genuine. Get to know each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius had been meaning to ask if that meant laser tag was off-limits, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned back to his laptop and started to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> work on his articles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d just gotten a new idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Remus-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>It’d been unexpected. Very </span>
  <em>
    <span>welcome</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but still definitely surprising. Remus felt as if Sirius could literally hear his heart dancing in his chest as he’d sat next to him for the rest of the afternoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t mind it, really. Not at all. Sitting beside him had been nice. Although they barely knew each other at all - well, maybe Remus knew some things, given he’d been involuntarily eavesdropping on Sirius and his friends’ conversations many times - and their texts during the weekend had definitely been very efficient ice breakers - it felt natural, like being next to a friend. A friend who made his stomach fill with butterflies and cheeks heat if he caught him looking at him...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d felt like walking on clouds since the previous afternoon when Sirius had asked him. He still couldn’t believe it was true. Sirius Black would take him on a date. In half an hour, or so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was still standing in the middle of his room, half-dressed, trying to decide what to wear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus felt like fourteen. It wasn’t like him at all. He didn’t care for fashion too much - he had his own style, and he was comfortable in the clothes he wore. He’d never really cared if his clothes were a bit mismatched. He’d always thought his outfits were good enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d tried on all his clothes, trying to figure out what looked best on him. And what </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sirius </span>
  </em>
  <span>would think looks good. He’d facetimed his old friends, asking for help, and been told to stop basing his decisions on whether someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>would like them or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he doesn’t like you in your normal clothes, Remus, for heaven’s sake, he’s not worth it,” Marlene had said to him, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips like always when she was done with Remus’s bullshit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even though you dress like an old man,” Dorcas piped in, although she didn’t show up on the camera.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even though you dress like an old man,” Marlene agreed with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not,” Remus said sharply. “And I just don’t want to embarrass myself, he’s like a God of fashion or something…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a super </span>
  <em>
    <span>stylish </span>
  </em>
  <span>old man, alright? Hey Re, it’ll be fine. Now you gotta run, it’s almost six, right? Go, have fun. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Be yourself.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Yeah. Bye, Marley.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dorcas’s voice echoed from the speaker again, “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember</span>
  </em>
  <span> to use protection—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Bye!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus would only have a few minutes before having to leave to be at the library on time. They’d agreed to meet there, at the main entrance, as Remus wasn’t yet supposed to know where Sirius would take him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally managed to choose some clothes before hurrying to the bathroom. He hastily styled his hair by running his hand through the curls a few times. He didn’t know why he was even bothering. He’d wear a hat outside, and it’d mess his hair right back up anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed deeply when he closed the bathroom door behind him and took one last look in the mirror hanging in the hallway. All this for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Sirius-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius waved at Remus’s lanky figure from a distance. He was usually late for everything, but now he’d been pacing at the library for at least twenty minutes before their agreed meeting time. He was nervous. So nervous he barely noticed the boy was no longer a small spot at the end of the street, but standing right in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Remus said, rubbing his hands together to warm them up. He was wearing very wintry clothes, a warm coat, a beanie. Only looking at him made Sirius shiver in cold, only wearing his leather jacket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s eyes shone. “You’ve got glasses?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius felt his mouth fall into a frown. Of course that’d be the first thing Remus would notice. He’d very conveniently just ran out of contacts that morning and hadn’t gotten a chance to get more yet. “Oh, it’s not a bad thing!” Remus rushed to say at the sight of Sirius’s face. “It looks - </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>look good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, not your </span>
  <em>
    <span>best </span>
  </em>
  <span>look,” Remus said, and Sirius could almost swear he saw him winking. “Your outfit on the night I brought you your laptop was way nicer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius covered his face with his hands for a second, the shame of the memory almost drowning the fact that Remus had just admitted to liking the sight of his nearly naked body (Sirius would end up realizing this only the next day.) “Oh fuck, can we just please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>forget about that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus laughed lightly. They started walking, chatting about nonsense for a few minutes, Sirius leading the way to their mysterious destination. His stomach turned at the thought of Remus not liking it, thinking it’d be childish, maybe, but it was too late to change the plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He complimented Remus on his clothes, which seemed to please him a lot for some reason, that’s how flustered and smiley he got. Sirius smiled back at him. He was looking adorable, curls sticking from under the beanie, and bouncing lazily as he walked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they’d talked about their day and the weather (how it should snow in the evening, how windy it was all the time, how Sirius’s breath fogged up his glasses), they continued their walk in silence, sometimes bumped into each other, trying to dodge the puddles on the pavement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope - this direction,” he said, instinctively grabbing Remus’s hand as he took a sudden turn to the left, pulling the boy with him. Sirius felt his eyes widen, staring at their hands. He tried to let go. “Oh. Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Remus laughed, squeezing his hand, not letting him pull it back. Sirius felt his heartbeat pounding in his fingertips, his palm sweat, and prayed Remus wouldn’t notice anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s hand felt icy in his. He held his hand the whole way to the edge of the downtown, where he stopped in front of a small bookshop and let go only to open the door and hold it open for Remus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite having lived in the town for almost his whole life he’d never been to this shop. He’d had to pull out Google Maps to find it and memorize the path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our first destination,” Sirius said over the light chatter in the store. He glanced at Remus. “Ring a bell?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus looked confused. Sirius had known to expect that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The receipt you gave me…” Sirius started but was interrupted by a sudden “Oh!” as the realization hit Remus. He looked almost flattered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You noticed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like he couldn’t have noticed. Sirius had stored the receipt under his phone case and would take it out every night, just to look at it, knowing well how sappy he was being. The curves in Remus’s perfect handwriting, what he’d purchased from the store that day (a book and some stationery supplies), </span>
  <em>
    <span>the name of the store…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you want to get to know each other, well,” Sirius spread his arms and spun around. “Books, library boy. Is there a better way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you saying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We pick each other a book. Pick something you’ve read and liked. Something that would maybe help me to figure out what goes on in that head of yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded in agreement, to Sirius’s relief even looking a little excited about the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sure hope you won’t pick me a book in German.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus winked - Sirius was sure about it this time - and headed to another direction. Sirius stood on his spot, gazing after him until a few moments later realized someone was clearing their throat next to him, and noticed he was blocking the whole main aisle. An old lady with a high stack of notebooks in her arms was glaring at him angrily. Sirius muttered his apologies as he hurried out of the way, moving in the opposite direction than Remus had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know where anything was. He wandered between the shelves, trying to find something that’d fill his own criteria; what he was looking for was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>window</span>
  </em>
  <span>, something that could help Remus take a peek into his world...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Dangerous Art of Blending In</span>
  </em>
  <span> in his hands for a moment, considering, but put it back on its place, figuring that sharing that part of his story at this point was way too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were a few other, more adventurous books he thought would be fitting, but then his eyes glued on another familiar-looking cover, and he smirked victoriously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found Remus from the back of the store. He had crouched to study the lower shelves and looked up when he saw Sirius walking closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius raised his hand, waving the book in it. “Ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shook his head a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t find anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly? There’s too many to pick from.” Remus looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry, I’m ruining this…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you’re not, we’re not in a hurry. Take your time.” Sirius watched Remus hold a book in each hand, looking back and forth between them, looking indecisive. He had to bite his cheeks to stop himself from smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you like the book you bought?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus looked up in surprise. “What book?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>The</span>
  </em>
  <span> book - you know - </span>
  <em>
    <span>the receipt</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it says you bought a book. Both of them died, or something -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>They Both Die at the End.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Remus looked around and took a few steps to pick something from the near shelf, a paperback with an orange cover. “This. Right. I liked it, yeah. It was really great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It literally says that in the title,” Remus said with a half-smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius raised his eyebrows. “And that’s all? A book about </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Ain’t that a bit dark?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not the dying part I enjoyed,” Remus muttered. He looked away, placed the other book he was still holding - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wonder </span>
  </em>
  <span>by R.J. Palacio, a cute one, Sirius thought - back to the shelf and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I am a little dark, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In all its suddenness and </span>
  <em>
    <span>relatability</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the statement made Sirius feel a bit taken aback. He hid his confusion by moving closer to Remus and reaching his hand to take the book from him. “Well that’s perfect then, huh?” He flashed a smile, piling the book on top of his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you can’t pay for that,” Remus said, his face reddening, as Sirius headed to the cashier point. “Not for both of them. I’ll pay for the other one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Sirius said, laying the books on the counter. Remus opened his mouth to argue, but Sirius waved his hand, motioning the boy to put away the wallet he’d pulled from his pocket. “Today’s all on me. When it’s your turn to plan a date, I promise to have an expensive taste in everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Remus-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, it was Remus closing his hand around Sirius’s, as they left the book store. Two small paper bags were hanging from his other hand, happily swinging back and forth as they walked. Sirius led him a few more blocks farther from the downtown, up a hill, to a street mostly packed with bars and small shops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius stopped him in front of a tall building in a corner of the block. He held the door open for Remus again, bowing deep (</span>
  <em>
    <span>“After you, milady”</span>
  </em>
  <span>) and they stepped in, climbed the stairs to the third floor, passing tattoo shops and hair salons on their way up — and finally arrived into a retro-styled bistro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus barely needed a proper look to decide he approved the choice. It instantly reminded him of the café he’d visited every Sunday for brunch with Dorcas and Marlene back at home in Wales. Casual, but cute. Not too big or packed with people. Definitely not a place for ‘candlelight dinners.’ Some tension left Sirius’s face as he smiled at him, and Remus guessed he had been nervous if he would like the place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love it,” he reassured, making Sirius flash a happy smile back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>———</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d already finished their dinner, but Sirius had insisted on they’d order dessert (</span>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ve got to taste the cinnamon rolls here, they’re magnificent, trust me.”)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus didn’t mind at all. They had talked non-stop for the past couple of hours, barely having the patience to pause to eat. He had talked tons about his own life, which he usually didn’t like to do, and also learned just as much about the other boy. Sirius was a Scorpio. He was native in French. He had a younger brother, who was very close to him. He didn’t really talk to or about his parents. James’s folks were much closer to him, and he considered them more family than his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had also spent a good while babbling about literature. They had read the first chapters of their new books while waiting for their orders to arrive. Remus had been a bit surprised by the book Sirius had picked for him (poems! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pillow Thoughts</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it was called) but really enjoyed the ones he read so far. They meant to chat about them just for a while, quickly getting too excited and discussing all their favorites from Oscar Wilde works to The Hunger Games.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus realized how easy it was to find many other similarities between them. Not only their sense of humor matched near perfectly, but Sirius also shared his interest in art and nature, among other things. Their studies were similar too, whereas Remus was majoring in English and Sirius was —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A journalist,” Remus said, stirring his tea. “Still can’t wrap my head around that. How are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>a journalist?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius looked amused. “Why couldn’t I be a journalist?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s impressive.” Remus laughed lightly at Sirius’s expression. “Kidding, alright. But I’m just saying. Have you seen the way you text? All lowercase and shit? At least you spell correctly, save me some brain cells.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, that’d be the autocorrect,” Sirius smirked, making Remus let out a groan. “It has nothing to do with how I do my job, honestly. I write pretty bomb articles if I say so myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you do,” Remus said, meaning it. He didn’t doubt it one bit. Sirius was intelligent, with more than enough talent for anything, it was obvious. “You should show me some of your work someday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius huffed a laugh, licking sugary crumbs from his lips. Remus loved the way his eyes squinted when he laughed. “Someday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Sirius-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus was </span>
  <em>
    <span>magic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, there was no other way for him to describe it. Sirius could be completely himself in his company. He’d only ever felt that way with James, so safe, and knowing he’d be free of judgment. As stunning as Remus looked, he was beautiful on the inside like that, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-Remus-</b>
</p><p>
  <span>They finished their teas and cinnamon rolls (Sirius hadn’t been exaggerating — they’d been amazing) and got up to leave, rather reluctantly. Remus pulled his coat back on, moving slow. The time had flown by so fast — the clock was nearing ten, and he swore it’d only been a few moments since they’d arrived at the bookstore and Sirius had introduced him to the most Tumblr-like date activity ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus, now pulling his beanie back over his curls, didn’t know where they’d go from there; where the things stood between them after that night. He was definitely hoping Sirius would be down for a second date. He wanted to take him out, offer him a night as amazing as he’d just received himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spending time with him had truly been wonderful. Sirius was so full of life. Remus didn’t remember when he’d last laughed as much as he had that evening. He imagined walking Sirius home, thanking him for the night. He wondered if he could hug him goodnight... if he could kiss him. He really wanted to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready, then?” Remus asked, checking his reflection on the mirror hanging on the hallway. Sirius didn’t respond. Remus turned to look. Sirius wasn’t looking at him, but somewhere behind them, pondering look on his face. “Everything okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without a warning, Sirius grabbed him by arm and started to drag him to the opposite way from the door, to a narrow, dim staircase beside the restrooms that had gone completely unnoticed by Remus until now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s brain was still struggling to decide if he was about to get assassinated or the hell snogged out of him (definitely rooting for the latest) when Sirius pushed the door at the top of the stairs open and the cold air hit Remus’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked a few times, taking in the view, and turned to Sirius. “You know I was joking about the rooftop, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius gasped dramatically, pressing his palms to his cheeks. “Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>nooo</span>
  </em>
  <span>, now what am I gonna say to the Taco Bell delivery guy when he shows up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus rolled his eyes. He followed Sirius across the roof, who leaned his lower back against the stone railing at the edge of the roof. He threw him a questioning look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is one of my favorite places in town,” Sirius said. He smiled fondly, letting his eyes scan the area. “They set tables up here in the summer, and a karaoke machine on some weekends. I like to come here for drinks with James.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are we here now, then? I don’t know if you missed it, but it’s definitely not summer yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius flashed a smile at his sarcasm — taking Remus’s breath away for a second — but took a moment to respond. “I just didn’t want to go home yet, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus leaned to the railing with his elbows. Sirius turned around and copied his position. The leather jacket tightened around his shoulders, and Remus had a hard time tearing his look from them and turn to face the town below them. “Looks beautiful,” he admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the corner of his eye, Remus could sense Sirius looking at him. He felt his neck heat and raised his look from the town on the indigo sky. Even with all the bright lights of the town lighting up the sky, it was still scattered with stars.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their upper arms kept brushing against each other as they breathed and shivered in the cool evening. Despite being severely underdressed for the weather, Sirius seemed to be radiating warmth next to him, and Remus only wanted to hold him close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know which star is Sirius?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius looked up, too. “Would be a bit odd if I didn’t, don’t you think? It carries my name, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You carry the star’s name, you prat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what they want you to think.” Sirius grinned at him. “Do you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus bit his lip. “No. I know only little about the sky, actually. Like, it’s probably very embarrassing how little.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, it's not embarrassing at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chills ran through his body as Sirius leaned closer and took Remus by the hand he’d reached toward the sky and guided it to point at one of the stars, shining more vividly than any of the ones around it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you see it?” The excitement in Sirius’s whisper made Remus’s heart swell. He nodded silently. “Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That just  sounds like — the first sentence for </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sirius </span>
  </em>
  <span>in Wikipedia, or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Sirius grinned. “What, am I supposed to cite my sources?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the journalist. You tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius turned to him, still smiling, but instead of his eyes, his gaze focused slightly lower. “You’ve got something on your face.” Before Remus could say anything, he reached his hand and wiped Remus’s chin softly with his thumb, and then, their eyes met. “There. Just cinnamon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus straightened his back. He felt blood rushing to his head; he took a quick, deep breath and let out what he’d been holding back for a half of the evening before he’d run out of chances to actually ask, “Can I kiss you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius gaped at him, looking almost stunned. Remus felt his face heat. He had no idea why Sirius seemed so perplexed. The way to describe Sirius Black with only one word was </span>
  <em>
    <span>a flirt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>must’ve </span>
  </em>
  <span>known what he was doing. He couldn’t just be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>beautiful and sweet and </span>
  <em>
    <span>touch his face</span>
  </em>
  <span> and not expect Remus would care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the kind of guy who </span>
  <em>
    <span>asks</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus thought he’d prepared for any kind of answer — definitely for the most obvious ones, for all variations of yes and no, at least — but this statement still made his stomach drop. “Oh. Do you… you think it’s dumb?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know if it’d be weird to explain why he’d asked first. How he respected him and didn’t want to do anything Sirius wasn’t ready for. How he’d gladly just to hear the </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> when the other option was being pushed away or making Sirius uncomfortable. Though he’d always done it this way, he’d never been so nervous to hear the answer. He was about to open his mouth, but Sirius was faster than him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, no.” The grey eyes shone, and Sirius’s face melted into a smile Remus had yet to see on it before. “No, nobody has just bothered to </span>
  <em>
    <span>ask </span>
  </em>
  <span>before. It’s not dumb at all, don’t worry — I think it’s kinda hot, really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus still hesitated, as Sirius hadn’t really given him a proper answer yet. Sirius seemed to have noticed the torn look on his face, because he stepped closer and closed his arms around Remus’s waist. “So yeah, you can definitely kiss me, you sap. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please </span>
  </em>
  <span>kiss me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus was ready; he found his own hands cupping Sirius’s neck, his fingers tucking in the soft hair on his neck, running his fingers through it, and leaned closer. He forgot the cold as soon Sirius’s lips met his and the boy let out a breathless sound. He felt so warm inside — and he had Sirius’s body pressed against his, so warm and so </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He still could taste cinnamon on his tongue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They broke apart when it started to snow. Sirius drew back abruptly, scrunching his nose, blinking furiously, as a big snowflake landed on the corner of his eye. Remus laughed at his expression, swirling him around so he could hug him from behind. He wrapped his arms around him tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius tipped his head back, letting it rest on Remus’s shoulder. The sky ahead of them, over the town, was still mostly clear, the clouds slowly moving closer from behind them. Maybe next morning, they’d wake up in a winter wonderland.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius tilted his head a bit more to whisper to his ear. “Tell me, Wolfie, do you know which of the lights on the sky is the Moon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus turned his head, looking down at snickering Sirius and the mischievous grin on his face, he felt like his heart might burst, and bent lower to peck his lips. “Shut up.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Find me on tumblr @<a href="http://lovingremus.tumblr.com/">lovingremus</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>